An earthworm named Dave has wriggled into the record books as the largest ever found in the UK - measuring a whopping 40cm (15.7in).
Experts at the Natural History Museum bestowed the accolade upon the annelid after it ventured above ground in a Cheshire vegetable plot.

However, the trip from Widnes to London took its toll and the Lumbricus terrestris did not survive.

It is now in a jar and will be "useful to science", the museum said.

Unfortunately, the scientist in the photo let out the truth on Breakfast TV. Dave survived the trip very healthily, and was then murdered by the scientists in order to be put in a jar. The TV presenters were somewhat taken aback by this news, while the scientist chatted happily on apparently oblivious to the likely reaction of Dave's inevitable Facebook supporters. Sometimes, no matter how hard they try, scientists seem a bit detached from the vital concerns of ordinary folk